Philomath 43
Sweet Home 31
Missing three starters most of the game, the Husky boys basketball team was in position to win Tuesday night at Philomath, but the team failed to close the gap.
The Huskies lost 43-31 to the state’s third-ranked 3A basketball team. Philomath spread the winning margin at the foul line in the last two minutes.
The Huskies trailed 10-4 after the first quarter but snatched an 18-17 lead by halftime. Philomath jumped ahead to a 29-23 lead by the end of the third, and with two minutes left, the Huskies were within four points.
“We played better again,” Coach Mark Risen said. “We’re definitely coming on.”
The team faced “quite a bit of adversity” that night, Coach Risen said. Anthony Mink started the game but was taken out after 30 seconds because the ankle he sprained against Central started bothering him. Tyler Emmert broke his nose in the first two minutes of the game, and Ricky Howe was out of action after five minutes.
Point guard Tim Matuszak led a team that refused to give the game away, orchestrating a strong Husky attack and defense.
“Tim Matuszak played spectacularly for us in all capacities,” Coach Risen said. He held the state’s sixth leading scorer, Kettles, to four points.
“Tim is really beginning to run the show for us out front creating a lot of offense for other players and rebounding extremely well for a point guard,” Coach Risen said. Matuszak was backed by a strong showing from the bench, including Brian Seward, Matt Slauson, Garrett Kauffman and Matt Morneault.
Mike Severns and Seth Graves gave great defensive minutes, and Ravi Patel added offense to Matuszak’s effort.
The Huskies had more rebounds and played good defense against Philomath, Coach Risen said, but their “nemesis,” the turnover cost them the game. They had 31 of them.
Matuszak led the Huskies with nine points. Seward added eight; Patel, six; Emmert and Slauson, three each; and Howe, two.
Sweet Home 63
Toledo 53
After losing 45-43 at Toledo early in the season, “obviously, we wanted a little payback,” Coach Risen said. “We left their gym knowing we didn’t play very well.”
This time, the Huskies jumped out to an early lead, but the big key was that they only turned the ball over 15 times.
The Huskies led 18-8 after the first quarter and 31-17 at halftime. Toledo got within four by the end of the third quarter, 41-37.
Seward, with 14 boards and 12 points, had “by far, his best game of the season,” Coach Risen said. “If he can do that for us nightly, he’s got a job.”
That’s the kind of “three man” the Huskies need, someone who can snap up some boards and knock down some jumpers, Coach Risen said. At point guard, Matuszak turned in another great performance with five points, eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and six deflections.
“Defensively, he’s solid,” Coach Risen said. “The kid he guarded, Smith, had 19 points at Toledo, and Tim held him to four Friday night.”
Like Seward, Howe had a “double double” with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“He’s really starting to understand his potential on the basketball court,” Coach Risen said. “He could be as good as he allows himself to be.”
His shot selection is better as well as his touch around the rest of the court, Coach Risen said.
Add to all that Slauson’s eight points and eight boards in 10 minutes, as good as a “double double” the Huskies look strong.
“It’s just really neat to see Matt have that success out there,” Coach Risen said. In his third start this season, “Ravi’s just explosive. He’s a very exciting sophomore. You can see the brilliance of the potential he has, and at times, he looks like a sophomore.”
Patel scored seven points and added three assists against Toledo.
“He’s responding really well to the opportunity (starting),” Coach Risen said. “He’s going to be an extremely good player before he’s done here.”
Emmert and Graves don’t show in the statistics, but they’re effort shows in the final score as they defensively hold down big opposing post players, Coach Risen said. “Both these guys are doing an exceptional job for us.”
Coach Risen was also pleased with sophomores Morneault and Kauffman. Kauffman scored two points with three boards in three minutes Friday.
“Mike Severns is playing superbly for us,” Coach Risen said. “His minutes are getting more productive.”
Mink sat out again Friday night.
“We should have Mink back this week, but we’re not hurrying him with league starting next week,” Coach Risen said.
As long as the Huskies keep playing this way and taking care of the ball, Coach Risen said, “we’re going to be a fun team to watch the next six weeks. You can see them improving on a daily basis. We’re definitely growing up very quickly.… Since Christmas break, these kids are on a mission.”
The team has grasped the intangibles it needs to make it, Coach Risen said. Right now, they are focusing on several smaller, more physical concepts.
Howe led the Huskies with 19 points. Seward added 12 points; Slauson, eight; Patel, seven; Matuszak, six; Severns, five; Emmert, two with three steals; Kauffman, two; and Morneault, two.
“Every guy in that gym is used to winning,” Coach Risen said. “You would think that at 3-7, 4-7, we’d be pointing fingers … some kind of negatives about not having a winning season at this point.… but not a word. Everyone’s focusing on achieving whatever is humanly possible.”
The coaching staff is pleased and proud of this team, Coach Risen said, especially since six of the seven losses were against ranked teams.
The Huskies hold a 4-7 record.